Court case in 2021 tugboat sinking expected to wrap up Aug. 16

The provincial court case against the company and one of its directors who operated a tugboat that sank near Kitimat in 2021 killing two mariners was carried over again last week. However, the Crown expects the matter to be wrapped up on Aug. 16.

Wainwright Marine and James Geoffrey Bates had been scheduled for an initial appearance on eight counts each under the Workers Compensation Act in Prince Rupert March 15, but did not enter a plea at that time. The appearance was rescheduled for July 12, but again, it was carried over.

This time, however, they were scheduled to appear before a judge in chambers for disposition of the charges on Aug. 16.

The Ingenika, which was towing a barge loaded with construction materials from Kitimat to Kemano sank in turbulent, icy waters in the Gardner Canal in February 2021.

The tug’s 43-year-old skipper, Troy Pearson, and a 25-year-old deckhand, Charley Cragg, died in the incident. A third crew member, 19-year-old Zac Dolan, was rescued after washing ashore.

On February 10 of this year, just one day shy of the two-year anniversary of the fatal incident, the RCMP laid charges.

A half a day has been set aside in August for pleas and either acquittal or sentencing on charges including: failure to ensure health and safety of workers; failure to maintain protective equipment, devices or clothing in good condition; failure to ensure pieces of equipment … were capable of performing the functions which they were designed for; failure to ensure that pieces of equipment … were operated, tested and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions; failure to provide workers with the information, instructional training and supervision necessary to ensure the health and safety of the workers carrying out their work; failure to ensure young or new workers were given health and safety orientation or training specific to the use of personal protective equipment in their workplace … and failure to document such orientation or training; failure to develop and implement appropriate written procedures for a workplace on or over water and in which a need to rescue or evacuate workers may arise; and failure to hold annual drills to ensure awareness of emergency procedures and/or to ensure that a record of such drills was kept.

As a result of the charges, the company and Bates also potentially face fines of up to $777,000.

A month after the charges were laid, the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) issued four recommendations for tugs of 15 gross tonnage or less including: regular TSB inspections to ensure they are following regulatory requirements; a requirement for tugboat owners to assess the risks of all the different operations their vessels may take on; Verification by the Pacific Pilotage Authority that tugs meet safety requirements before issuing pilotage waivers to owners; and a requirement for the Pacific Pilotage Authority to create a process to verify ongoing compliance with pilotage waiver conditions.